Reunion
by IrishCrusader
Summary: When Joel gets shot and need aid, Ellie finds herself taking help from two strangers. However it takes a twist of events when the elder of the two turns out to be a figure from Joel's past. Nonetheless, all four set out on a journey to a safe-zone in Las Vegas. Joel is puzzled with his feelings during it. After all, how do you act around your grown-up daughter you thought was dead?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Last of Us. The game, story and characters belong to Naughty Dog.

This is a story taking place about nearly a year after the events of the Last of Us. Originally this story started with something bad happening at Tommy's settlement but that's been done a lot in these stories so I've decided to just start off at a point where its already happened.

This story focuses mainly on four characters; three actual canon characters and one OC I've added in there to help move the story along. It is a mixture of playing around the emotions of the characters and also an adventure-filled story. I hope you all enjoy this story.

* * *

"Think that house up there has anything good?"

"Our best guess yet," Joel replied shortly as he switched his gaze to the beaten-down building that rested beside many others. However, compared to the others which were all totalled beyond any hope of being able to search, this one at least had an open door and they could see in through it. Two-stories so the odds of finding something good were plausible, "Let's give it a try." He informed Ellie.

She nodded in return and the two made their way into the house.

They didn't even bother to say which way they were going. Ellie trudged up the stairs whilst Joel stayed down both scrimmaging around for anything that could be used.

Upstairs, Ellie had found some ammo which was always good to find and she even managed to discover a medical kit. Stowing them away in her bag, she called down to Joel, "Find anything good?"

"Unless you count empty cans as good, then we've hit the motherload," He responded sarcastically though Ellie somewhat felt as if he were just being plain honest.

She shrugged out her thoughts and headed to the windowsill, picking up an empty can of food. She tossed it back with a sigh before something caught her attention.

In the distance she began making out three blurry figures and when they came into focus, she recognized them as members of a camp she and Joel recently snuck past to get through here. Immediately she ducked down, pulling out her rifle as she approached the stairs, "Joel?" She hissed down.

"I see them," Came his short reply, "Stay upstairs, try and get a surprise shot at them." He ordered her before taking place beside the door.

The sound of them speaking began to increase and he readied his pistol to aim for the head before the sound of a bang went off and a gurgling noise was heard followed by a gasp. He smirked to himself. Looks like Ellie got her mark.

He spun out, shooting immediately as a bullet pierced through the arm of one of the two remaining thugs. Unfortunately that hand didn't hold a gun and he found himself barely dodging a bullet. He heard another shot and the thump of a body followed. As he hopped out once more, he shot once more, getting the remaining thug right in the neck.

Ellie sighed in relief as the last goon fell to the ground. It may have seemed easy but she could never be too sure. You could meet someone with no experience or the greatest gunslinger in the universe. She stood up from her crouching position, brushing dirt off her jeans.

For the past few months, things had been tough ever since what Joel described as 'shit hitting the fan' had happened. They had been safe at Jackson County, at Tommy's settlement. A roof over their heads, food to eat, time to relax. But one day it changed when Joel had shaken her awake, saying something about an ambush. She tried to block out what happened that night. She remembered the smell of smoke, the image of fire and the large amount of blood that was spilled that day.

Tommy and his wife managed to escape and the two split ways with herself and Joel, promising to meet up in Las Vegas where apparently it was safe and accepted survivors. Joel didn't really give much detail on the place, except that it was a cool place to play cards. And so the duo seemed to find themselves on another journey.

Ellie herself had grown over the last nine months. She was now fifteen years old (something she stated proudly to Joel whenever he started using the 'I am an adult' argument). She had changed that much except she had grown a few inches in height. She was still nothing compared to Joel's tall frame but it was an improvement from how short she used to be.

Her skills increased as well. Her and Joel often parted ways to look for supplies and it wasn't rare to meet an infected or even the occasion clicker. Her marksmanship rose and she had a better target hit. Joel had even began trying to show her how to swim, giving her some tips. He never tried anything like placing her in the water, just occasionally he would drop something that could help her out.

Joel. A light smile tugged on her face as she thought of the man who had become the father she never had. Their relationship had taken a turn for the better and hadn't strained upon the events of the Fireflies. Upon thinking of the organization, she frowned and sighed.

She didn't believe a single word he said. It didn't seem right. He may have said he told her the truth countless times but she just felt like something happened that he wasn't telling her.

The sound of a gunshot alerted her from downstairs and she rushed to the stairs, "Joel?" She called down before making her descend.

To her dismay, she saw herself looking at Joel who was lying on the ground, bleeding from his stomach while a gangly young man stood over him, holding a pistol with shaky hands with a look of amazement.

He clearly wasn't experienced and was a newbie who gotten lucky.

It didn't take long for a bullet to go right through his brain and for him to take his last breath. Ellie rushed towards Joel, "Joel?! Joel?!" She yelled. He was unconscious and was bleeding by the second. She pressed a hand to the wound while the other took out the medical pack.

She gulped. It wouldn't be enough. She couldn't save him again, she didn't have the supplies needed to do so. This could not be happening. Joel couldn't be dying. He had to be fine.

Tears began pricking up in her eyes. Ellie rarely cried. Emotions were a no-go, there was no time for it and yet, here she was, struggling to hold them back. She continued to put pressure on the wound. She had to do something.

Suddenly the feeling of a hand on her shoulder could be felt before she was yanked back. Opening her mouth to yell, she found a hand pressed over her mouth, nothing being spoken to by her. She struggled against the hold but soon found a voice muttering in annoyance into her ear.

"Just keep calm and you and your friend might actually live through this day."

That did nothing to calm her nerves, especially when she saw a woman bend down towards Joel. At once she elbowed the person holding her in the ribs sharply and rushed forward, brandishing her rifle, "Get the fuck away from him!"

The woman looked at her, raising hands simply in defence. Ellie examined her, short, choppy blonde hair and grey eyes framed her head. Looked to be early thirties. She couldn't have been from that camp, no females were there. Maybe she was a wanderer and was expecting to loot Joel's corpse.

"Unless you want this man to die, kid, I advise you step back and let me do my job," Ignoring the gun pointed at her, she slung the backpack she wore off her shoulder and unzipped it, pulling out a first-aid kit. As she clicked it up, she turned and then added, "Can you please take that young girl out?"

"What if you kill him?" Ellie growled, her tone vicious.

"As we speak, I'm taking the bullet out. Unless I plan to shoot him again with it, I doubt that. Now please, some space?"

"You heard her, red," Ellie looked towards the other occupant in the room. She was surprised to see it was a girl her own age.

She had dirty-blonde hair and that seemed tied up in a messy ponytail-bun and also blue eyes that looked empty and cold and Ellie almost shivered as they bored into her own pair of green. She then looked up at her forehead where a pair of flight goggles rested comfortably there, the leather band black and one of the lenses cracked.

Suspicions ran high and she sent a glare towards the other girl who looked back at her calmly in return.

"How can I trust you?"

The girl sent a lazy grin at Ellie, "That's easy. You don't." And with that said, she spun on her heel, "Though you're welcome to search the Doc. Just be advised I'm the one with the weapons." She pointed at the large backpack she carried.

Ellie frowned, looking back at the other woman. She seemed too focused in helping Joel, now appearing to add disinfectant to the wound. He cringed in his unconscious state but relaxed moments later when she began bandaging his stomach.

Unless a gun was stowed away in the room, she didn't look to be carrying it. The backpack had all of its contents spilled out and nothing to be used as a weapon. With a sigh, she reluctantly followed the other girl out of the house but rested against the wall immediately beside the door, ready to rush in if need be.

"So, you got a name?" Ellie broke the silence between the two of them.

"Mia," She replied, "You?"

"I'm Ellie," Mia only nodded at that before returning her gaze to ahead of herself.

"That guy you're with will be fine, she won't kill him, especially since he has a kid with him," Mia then spoke, looking over at Ellie, "She likes kid." She added to explain.

Ellie slowly nodded. They were quiet for a few minutes, Ellie occasionally sticking her head in through the door just to see the woman helping Joel. She relaxed slightly. Maybe things would be okay.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a long jagged scar on Mia's arm. It looked old and to be honest, kind of cool.

"How'd you get that?" Curiosity got the better of Ellie as she inquired.

"Long story," Did everything this girl spoke have to be less than three words. Ellie sighed, leaning her head back on the wall, "So, what brings you two to the slums of the country?" Mia inquired then.

"Scavenging for supplies," Ellie said, tilting her head, "We were gonna pass by it soon, we just go where the wind takes us nowadays." She weakly chuckled, "But we got a little side-tracked. What's your story?"

"We wander, nothing else. No destination, no plans, we just travel," Wow, she actually could speak sentences. Mia reached up and adjusted the goggles over her forehead and looked inside the house, "Doc, you ready?"

"Soon, you both can come inside now," When Ellie entered, she looked over at Joel. He was still unconscious but had a large bandage wrapped around his stomach, not bleeding anymore, "He should be fine but I don't advise keeping him around here. When it gets late, more people turn up. We've set up camp in a tunnel not far from here. Safe from view. We can bring you and your friend there if you would like."

Ellie contemplated the idea. The two didn't seem to be evil or looking to kill them, the older one just saved Joel's life for heavens sake and now she was offering them a place to stay for a while. It didn't seem like they were going to betray them any longer.

With a sigh, she nodded, "Okay, fine. Just until he wakes up."

"Alright," She agreed and then she gently took one of Joel's arms and threw it around her shoulder. For a moment she staggered under the weight but soon gained composure, "One of you carry his bag, and one of you carry the other."

Mia took no time in grabbing the woman's, now even bothering to ask because she knew her new-found companion would want to take the one belonging to her friend.

Ellie kept a close eye on Joel as they all made their way out of the house. His head was bent and he was still not conscious as his feet dragged against the floor. His healer was displaying surprisingly strong strength as she carried him with little-to-no hesitation. As she shuffled along carrying both his and her own bag, she almost began to relax.

Almost.


	2. Chapter 2

Woah, I did not expect to get so many follows and favorites on the first chapter. Thank you all for that! I managed to get this chapter done for y'all and I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

With a thump noise, Ellie's sneakers hit the ground as she dropped down from a wall and into a dried-up river. Not a drop of water to be seen. Even if there was, Ellie wouldn't have trusted drinking it. Clean water was a rare burden to discover nowadays.

The journey to the tunnel was short, brief and quiet. Neither of the three conscious figures exchanged a word and the only noise was occasional groans from Joel, still knocked out as he was dragged by the woman to helped save him.

Ellie glanced over to make sure he was alright. He seemed to be holding up decently and didn't look like he was going to die any moment. That was a good sign. Hopefully it shouldn't be long enough before he was up and ready to go.

The tunnel was clean, dry and hard to see into unless you were looking into it on purpose. A mini-camp had been set up and it looked comfortable from the standards of hand-made hideouts. Ellie wasted no time in quickly rolling out a blanket which Joel was laid on and another tossed over him.

Slowly, Ellie began to let her guard down a bit, leaning against a wall. Whoever these two were, they didn't talk much. The woman (she really needed to find out her name) attended to Joel, making sure he was still alright and the girl her own age (Mia) had simply crossed her arms as she shut her eyes, head against a wall. She didn't look to be sleeping, merely relaxing.

Nothing was said for minutes, which turned into hours, which turned into nearly becoming evening. Ellie was now sitting down, engrossed in reading an old issue of Savage Starlight.

Her attention was directed at the comic book. No matter how many times she read the series, she was always intrigued by it. She often wished she could forget what she knew about it and re-read it to discover it again.

The sound of a groan made her look up and she recognized it as Joel. Said man was stirring awake, sitting up before releasing a grunt, his hand going immediately to his stomach.

A twinge of panic rang through Ellie as images of when Joel had been impaled right through his stomach flashed through her mind. She rushed towards him, "A-are you okay?"

"I'm…fine," He struggled out, not sitting up as he laid back, "Where are we?" He asked in confusion upon seeing that they definitely were not in a house. His mind was blurry though he remembered taking out the reminder of the thugs and then a sharp pain in his stomach, it all went black then.

"Safe," Ellie said shortly, a smile on her face at seeing him being awake, "Though you shouldn't move, you don't want to start bleeding all over the place."

"What?" He asked.

"You got shot," She explained as she sat beside him, "But she helped you." She waved an arm at the blonde lady.

Joel looked over at her, "She did?" He asked, uncertainty in his tone. Ellie didn't blame him. It was becoming increasingly hard to trust anyone you encountered nowadays.

"Yes. If it weren't for her, you'd be dead by now."

Joel switched his eyes to Ellie, noting she spoke sincerely. He glanced back and released a sigh, "Well good then." He gritted his teeth and extended a hand to Ellie. As she took it, he forced himself to sit up.

Thankfully his wound didn't re-open.

The man then noticed a tablet being extended to him, followed by a bottle of water. He looked up to see a pair of grey eyes looking at him, "Take this. It'll help calm the pain."

"Thanks," He took it the offered items.

As he downed the medicine with some water, he looked the woman up and down. Something seemed familiar about her though he couldn't pinpoint it. He then noticed someone else in the tunnel but she was further down the tunnel and seemed to be messing about with something he couldn't see.

"It's getting late," She then stood up, "I advise you two to stay here for the night. They start to explore the city when it gets dark."

"They?"

"The people who attacked you," She explained, "They have a camp nearby and-"

"Yeah, we know," Ellie interrupted, clearing her throat, "We've…met them before." If by met then snuck past, took out a few members and stole some supplies by them, then yeah, they met.

She nodded before she stood up, "I'll go prepare some food you two." She then walked off to the gear bags she owned.

Ellie was then reminded on her starving hunger and sighed in relief, "Should we trust them?"

"You were around them longer, are they nice?" Joel gruffly asked. The pain in his abdomen seemed to be de-creasing.

Ellie shrugged, "They're quiet but not evil. I think we can trust them. They saved your life, Joel. Medical supplies and all." She pointed at his shirt where underneath it his stomach was bandaged, "That shits legit."

"Feels it."

"Guess we just wait to see if they try to shoot us."

"Seems like the plan, keep your pistol hidden and near you, alright?"

"You got it."

The two were silent then and a few minutes later, the woman approached them, given them each a can half-full of baby carrots. They soon began to scarf them down eagerly.

When it was finished, Ellie noticed it was late but didn't feel tired. She decided to stretch her legs and began walking up and down.

When she passed Mia for the fourth time, she noticed the girl was engaging with something. A square-shaped object was held in her hands with mini-square stickers of different colours it. She twisted it around, transporting the squares to other places.

"What's that?"

"Doc calls it a Rubik's Cube," Mia said almost immediately after Ellie's question, "Suppose be a sort of puzzle. She says once each side consists of only one colour its' complete."

"You ever complete it?"

"Nope, maybe I will one day but for now, I'm destined at getting different colours," Still feeling Ellie's gaze on her, she lifted her head and extended it to her, "You want a go?"

She nodded and took the cube, taking a seat next to the other as she began fiddling with it. It took a while but soon the controls began to make sense and she twisted and shaped it but it was hard to get all colours on one side. To get another yellow square onto the side with the most yellows, she had to sacrifice another.

"I can see why its' a puzzle," She muttered in irritation. She could have sworn she saw a smirk crack onto Mia's face though the next time she glanced it was gone, though her eyes lingered with amusement.

After a few more failed attempts, Ellie gave it back to Mia who tossed it from one hand to another, "Maybe one day." She repeated before placing it back into her bag.

Ellie stayed silent, unsure of what she should say. In the past year, she interacted with one kid only and that turned out bad. She frowned at the mention of Sam. Sam had been more easy to speak with and was a lot more open than this girl was.

She shook her thoughts clear of Sam and then simply returned to reading another comic book.

"What's that?"

She looked up at Mia who had a quirked eyebrow, "A comic book." She said. When Mia failed to make any look of recognition, she turned the book to her, "It's like a book but with images and stuff. Plus, a lot more fun and not as boring."

Mia tilted her head, "You learn something new everyday." She murmured.

"You wanna read one?" Ellie asked hopefully, lifting up the first issue, "This is the one you should start with."

Mia hesitated but gave in and took it, beginning to read.

A flicker of excitement rang through Ellie. No matter how many times she encouraged him, Joel never went near the comic books, not reading one panel. To have someone to discuss it with was great. The fact it was someone her own age was even better.

As the two read in a quiet, but peaceful silence, Joel was engaging a bit with the woman. He had yet to learn her name but he ignored that as they talked about their own stories.

He learnt that she and the girl (who was called Mia) had been traveling through here when they were ambushed by a group of armed camp members. She explained that they had been here for a few days and were heading to leave soon.

When asked himself he simply stated they were headed for Vegas. She nodded a bit in regard, "I might go there. Is it true that it's safe?"

"Apparently," Joel replied. He was more comfortable now as the pain in his stomach calmed down and he could sit up neatly. He pushed up the sleeves of his shirt. The night was warm which was always good, "I never got your name." He noted then out of the blue.

"The same goes for you. But oh well, I'm-" She paused at once and he followed her eyes to his watch. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as she stared at him with puzzled eyes, "That watch…where did you get it?"

"What's it to you?" He countered with.

"Answer the question."

Joel sighed, "It was a gift. Back before…things went to hell." Her expression turned to one of shock then.

"Can I ask your name?"

"Joel," He said. She released a small gasp then and he looked at her oddly, "Are you okay?"

"I don't think so…" She cleared her throat, "Your last name doesn't happen to be Miller does it?"

Immediately Joel looked at her with wide eyes. No one knew his last name. Only Tommy (and possibly his wife), Bill and Tess were the only existing people who had known his name, "Listen lady, I don't know who you are, but you have some explaining to do about how you know my name." He frowned.

She weakly smiled, "And here I thought you died years ago." She leaned back, chuckling lightly, "This really is happening."

"Who are you?" Joel demanded.

Looking at him with a blank expression, she said in an almost-casual tone, "Sarah."


	3. Chapter 3

Man, a lot of follows and favorites. This is definitely increasing my mood for this story. Don't be afraid to drop a review, I would love to hear your opinion's. Even if it's a simple good job or even a critique I'd love to hear it.

* * *

Everything was quiet, the only noise being the gentle breeze of the wind and also the light breathing of Mia and Ellie who had fallen asleep against each other, comic books scattered around their bodies.

Joel looked at the woman claiming to be called Sarah. A rush of emotions flooded through him and he was unable to register most of them. All he could mutter was a simple sentence, "What the fuck?"

Sarah was dead, she died in his arms. Tommy had to practically drag him away from her. She was dead for over twenty years. She couldn't just appear now, grown up and a woman.

"You probably don't believe me."

"Damn right I don't," He snapped before he shook his head, "Look, I don't know how you found out my name or my daughters for that matter, but you are not her. I trust you to not make a joke like that." His tone began more sharper. Talking about Sarah was always a subject that disrupted him.

She sighed, "Don't you think I'm having doubts about it myself? But you are wearing the watch I gave my father for his twenty-eight birthday and unless you took it off his body and decided to steal his name, you're my dad."

She got the age right. Worst birthday ever, he always told himself.

"That doesn't mean anything," He snapped.

To his surprise, she hitched up the bottom of her shirt, exposing her stomach. On the side of her stomach a short scar was there, about the size of a bullet, "I got this from when I was shot on the day of the outbreak. That happen to your daughter?"

Joel's mouth fell open- he was rarely a man for showing emotions but this left him confused. There was no way that she survived. Right?

The woman then fell back, placing her head in her hands, "I thought you died when the outbreak happened. You weren't there and the last image I saw of you was when that gun was pointed at you." She shook her head, "I thought you were dead all along. You and uncle Tommy. But yet, here you are."

Joel swallowed a lump in his throat. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he felt that it was her. Her grey eyes reminded him so much of his twelve-year-old girl which he had prayed to see for many years.

With a shaking hand, he placed it on her shoulders, "I think…I think maybe you are my daughter." When she looked up, he forced a smile to assure her, "I mean, you sure seem to have her brain if you aren't."

Sarah sighed, looking down again, "It's funny. I never gave much thought lately about you, I just…sort of accepted that you were gone."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Joel muttered.

"It's odd. I always expected us to meet up in some place when we died, not me saving your life."

"Join the club," Joel sighed.

"Is Uncle Tommy…is he…"

"He's alive," She sighed in relief, "Married, too."

"He's married?" She gave him an incredulous look and he nodded, "Oh that can't be true."

"You'd be surprised. Nice enough gal, kinda scary though," Joel couldn't believe how calm he was acting. Him being shocked must have numbed his emotions down. She was alive. His baby-girl was alive.

But what happened now? Did they go separate ways? Do they travel together? How would Ellie react? Better question, how should he act?

"Maybe we should get some sleep?" Sarah suggested.

"Sounds about right," Joel nodded.

They remained quiet as they settled down to sleep. Joel told himself he could deal with his confused emotions in the morning. He nodded and then fell asleep.

* * *

Ellie's eyes flickered awake and found herself staring at a wall. Memories of the previous day flushed through her as she lifted her head from something soft. It took a few moments to register she had passed out on Mia's shoulder, the other girl awake and reading another comic.

"You're awake," She noted, not moving her eyes from the page, "Morning."

"Why didn't you wake me? That must have made your reading uncomfortable," Ellie rubbed her eyes to fully awaken herself.

"You were peaceful, I wasn't going to be rude and disrupt you. Everyone needs a good rest nowadays," She flipped the page, already engrossed in it, "Sarah made breakfast if you're hungry." She nodded at the can in front of her, "Or just opened a can but that counts as cooking in my book."

Ellie lifted it up. There was less food in it than for dinner. The same with her and Joel, about a quarter of a can for breakfast and half for dinner, "You want some?"

"Already ate," She said with her usual laid-back tone.

Ellie stood up and headed over to Joel. He was quiet as he simply stared at a wall. When Ellie arrived he looked up, "Hey."

"Hi," She sat beside him.

"You made a friend?" He asked, looking over at Mia. Whoever she was, she seemed polite enough to not shove Ellie off her shoulder when she awoke to find the girl resting there.

"Kinda," Ellie replied, "I don't really know." She added as she ate.

Joel nodded before he sighed, "Ellie, we have to talk."

"Go ahead."

"What do you know about that woman?" He nodded at Sarah who now sat by Mia, engaging in a conversation.

"Just that she's a good medic and saved your life, apart from that, practically nothing."

"Her name is Sarah," Ellie paused eating, "She's…my daughter."

Ellie turned to look at him. At first she gave him a look that said 'really, telling me bluntly and shortly, that's how you approach it', then her eyes widened and she looked between Sarah and him, "You mean the one in the photo daughter?"

"I don't have kids running all over the place, Ellie," He said, his tone turning bitter for a moment.

"But…you said she got shot."

"She did, she just survived," Joel didn't know the full details, he would have to ask however did she not die that night.

Ellie breathed out, "Woah." The fifteen-year-old looked up, a large smile on her face, "That's amazing, Joel!"

"What?"

"That, it's great!" She exclaimed, "I mean, I was thinking of finding someone to join up with and who better than with your daughter?"

"Join up? Ellie-"

"This is gonna be awesome, we can all head to Vegas together and-"

"Ellie!" She stopped as he interrupted her, "We don't know what's going to happen." He shook his head at her.

Confusion ran high throughout him as he ran a hand through his hair. He was unsure on what would happen now. He would like to travel with her but so much has changed. They had spent more time apart then they had together. Joel only had her around him for twelve years then never saw her for twenty years.

"Joel, what did you say Vegas was?"

"Safe."

"Yeah, safe," Ellie repeated the word with a nod, crossing her arms now, "If it's safe there, then that means things could be normal there. Shouldn't we all go there? That way you can make sure she'll be fine."

"Ellie, I don't know," He sighed, "It's been years since I met her. What do I do? Accept her and try bonding with her?"

"Not that, but…" She paused, "Maybe just travel with her for a bit, maybe things might start to turn good. And we could always use some extra-help and who yet to trust better than your own flesh and blood."

Ellie did have a point. Working together in groups was always a plus when you could trust the others. But his daughter was alive and he didn't know what to do. He had managed to get over her loss a while back but now it was all returning.

Did he still love her? He always would but he didn't know if they could ever have a relationship like before. He missed many years of her life, her teenaged years, young adulthood. She'd be around early-thirties now if he was correct.

"Christ," He muttered underneath his breath, "Who even says she'll want to travel with us?"

"That…I haven't figured out yet," Ellie said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck, "Oh well, I'll ask later today. You need to rest."

"But-"

"No buts, tomorrow we'll leave, with them or not," Ellie added sharply, "I'm going to ask Mia if she wants to check this place out with me. You and Sarah can talk." With that said, she strolled on over towards Mia, Sarah not sitting beside her anymore, "Hey."

"Hi," She nodded at the comics, "Finished those. Man, comics are pretty cool."

Ellie perked up, a grin splitting onto her face, "Yeah, they are." She scooped them up and placed them in her bag, "So, I was wondering. I don't feel like hanging around this place. You wanna go explore?" She asked hopefully.

Mia contemplated the idea for a few moments before she shrugged, "Eh, why not?" She stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and called over to Sarah, "We're gonna head out to check for supplies, Doc." She then added, "If we get into trouble we'll come right back."

Ellie nodded in agreement. Joel looked over at her and they exchanged a nod. She'd stick by what Mia said; if trouble happened, she'd get right back here.

The two then set off, Mia climbing up a ladder with Ellie following her soon after.

"There's a few houses nearby that we haven't checked yet," Mia pointed at a direction, "You and that guy you're with go there?"

"No, we haven't gotten to that part," Ellie responded, "Guess that's our destination."

As the two walked, Ellie began to think over Joel's situation. She felt happy for him- extremely. But he didn't seem to be overly excited about the fact. Shouldn't he be?

Maybe he was just confused on the ordeal and soon he would be fine. Yeah, that seemed okay.

"I can't believe Daniela made it back, I thought for certain she would have died," Mia then said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"What?" Ellie blinked and in a matter of moments she was reminded of the big climax of the Savage Starlight series and she shook her head, "You and me both, I thought it was gonna be James that lived. But nope, she makes it out alive."

Mia lightly smiled, "At least he had a cool send-off. Being sent into a star to save the world is a decent way to die."

"You got that right," Ellie chuckled a bit. The two were quiet as they hopped over a wall, landing on their feet. They stayed silent as they listened in for any noise. Nothing so far.

They continued on, passing a fence and into a backyard of a house. Ellie frowned as she noticed a doghouse and a swing-set. Joel had informed her that a swing-set was something that children played with. Her stomach stirred as she secretly hopped whoever owned this house made it out alright.

When they entered the house, they looked at one another, "I'll take upstairs." Ellie stated, turning and already heading up the stairs.

And just like that, the two began to search.

* * *

Joel winced a bit as he felt his stomach hurt once more. Sarah was currently re-doing his bandages which had been stained completely with blood. Thankfully, his wound didn't seem to be opening up and soon enough, he was freshly bandaged.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They seemed to be talking like people who had just encountered each other for the first time and were trying to be as polite as possible.

"Who's the kid?"

Joel looked over at Sarah, "Ellie, her names Ellie." He leaned his back head back, "I met her about a year and a half or so ago, maybe." He thought for a few moments.

"How?"

"Uh, well," Joel cleared his throat, "She's infected."

"What?" Sarah sat up immediately, looking at him with wide eyes, "Since when? Can she turn any minute? What if-"

"I don't know, when I met her she was already bitten," As confusion flared her gaze, he paused, "It's complicated. She's somehow immune."

"Immune? How?"

"She can walk through spores without so much as blinking, those things don't effect her at all," He explained, "I've met tons of people before but she was the only one I heard of that got infected and never turned."

Sarah breathed out, "Wow..."

"Yeah, it is."

"She seems nice," Odd turn of conversation, Joel noted as he shrugged then, "She has to be, Mia usually says barely two words to anyone we meet and I think I actually saw them having a conversation."

"Ellie has that effect," He said, "It's nice to see her with someone her own age." He then added, "Usually we don't."

Two faces flashed in his mind and he shook his head, trying to block out the faces of Henry and Sam.

"Sarah?" When she looked at him, he sighed, "Can you...can you tell me how you survived?"

She was silent for a few moments before she nodded slowly, "Yeah, yeah, I will."

* * *

For those who are probably confused on why Joel didn't freak out, I have my reasons. Mainly the fact that during the game, Joel seemed to be really good at hiding his emotions even in bad situations. Another reason is because I want his reaction to develop over the course of the story. Having him freak out immediately would make it hard for him to recover unless I decided to make him fine with it instantly.

Just to fill you all in, the next part of the story is a flashback and will be Sarah's tale on what mostly happened to her after she got shot. How she survived and what happened to her during the beginning of the outbreak.

This story won't mainly focus on the present, a lot will also focus on whatever happened to Sarah during the twenty years the outbreak happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to all for the kind reviews. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Thud, thud, thud.

The pattern continued over and over again, making her head feel like it was going to explode at any moment. Her eyes flickered awake to meet the star-filled sky.

She twitched only to moan in pain as a pang of pain shot from her stomach throughout her entire body. Immediately, she stopped moving and tried to focus her gaze to look at who was carrying her, "D...dad?" She managed to murmur.

Her father was not the man holding her. This man looked a tad bit younger and had auburn hair and brown eyes. He definitely was not her father.

She couldn't shove him away, she was in too much pain. She heard him talking, speaking to someone else and another voice replied, a woman's voice.

She began to drift unconscious again, feeling sleep slowly overcome her. The last thing she heard was the sound of a car starting before she passed out.

* * *

When she awoke once more, she found herself lying on something soft. It took a few moments for her to recognize it as a mattress. She went to sit up only for another wave of pain to run through her.

She paused for a few moments and when it had calmed, she slowly got to her feet. She found herself in a bedroom. It looked to be a young boys room from the walls painted blue, the numerous football or baseball player posters and also the numerous photos showing a boy no more than ten or so playing baseball.

She approached the door of the room before she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Her blonde hair had dirt in it and was messy and untamed. Her pyjama's were ripped and to her shock she saw blood coating the front of it.

Seeing as it was dried, she had to be unconscious for a while. But why was she bleeding? More so, where was her dad?

Panic rang through Sarah as the twelve-year-old opened the door. The hallway was not her home. She didn't recognize it as uncle Tommy's as well. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she entered the hallway and began to head down the stairs.

Her steps were quiet though she paused as one step made the stairs creak. She froze but no one appeared. As she continued on down, memories began to appear in her mind.

Someone with a gun- a soldier, shouting as her and her dad. Then she remembered a bang and it all went black.

Sarah had to find her father, she just had to. She followed down another hall and arrived in a kitchen. To her shock and horror, she saw blood staining a table. She looked at it and then down to her stomach. Was that her blood?

With trembling hands, Sarah lifted up the hem of her shirt to expose her stomach. A fresh, red wound was there but a line of stitching was done, about the size of a coin. She gulped at once.

Suddenly the sound of voices alerted her and she rushed to hide behind a door. Two people entered and were talking to each other.

"Jane, we have to just keep calm. I don't know what happened but we'll work it out," A man with a similar appearance to the person who carried her while she was in pain stated as he ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. Blood stained his hands and clothes.

"I know, Steven but I saw someone eat another person out there. Something fucked up is going down," The woman- a pretty one in her late twenties with black hair and blue eyes that were bloodshot began to rub her hands up and down her sides to assure herself, "Who knows how long it will take before someone finds us here."

"We're in the middle of nowhere, only we and the family know about this place. If they have any sense they'll be here soon," Steven wrapped his arms around the woman, hugging her close to him. She relaxed slightly.

"The girl?"

"We'll take care of her for now. Maybe we'll try and look for her parents if we can."

"Yes, right," Her tone became choked, "Steven…Jason's…he's gone."

"I-I know, honey," He murmured, "But we have to keep strong."

"Strong? Strong?" She looked at him, eyes beginning to tear up, "Our son is dead and you want us to stay strong? The shit has hit the fan, Steven! He's gone and we'll never see him again!" She yelled before beginning to sob.

Sarah watched them with wide eyes, her heart beating faster than ever. She could try and make a run for it. That seemed the best plan. Her dad must be worried for her. She took a step forward but she pushed the door as it made a noise and immediately two pairs of eyes found her.

The woman- Jane looked at her, beginning to calm down a bit, "You're awake."

Sarah froze, unsure of what to do. She stayed quiet as they both took a few steps towards her, which she replied with moving back.

"Just take it easy, little girl, you got hurt pretty badly back there," Steven raised his hands up, "We're not here to hurt you. I managed to patch you up good enough. Are you in pain?"

"A…a little bit."

Steven looked at his wife, "Go find some medicine, there should be some in the bathroom." As she left, her steps shaky and messy, he crouched down and offered the girl a small smile, "I'm Steven, that there is my wife, Jane. Who are you called?"

"S-Sarah," Though her father never said to tell strangers her name, this man seemed nice and not likely to hurt her, "W-where's my dad?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, Sarah," He said, "But if you stick around, we might be able to help you find him." He then stood up, "Are you hungry?"

"A little," Sarah murmured as she watched him head to a cupboard. He pulled out a loaf of bread and proceeded to make a sandwich, "What happened? I felt hurt."

"You were shot," He explained, "We found you, bleeding and unconscious. We quickly loaded you into a car and drove here. We have a house that the family usually stays in for the summer. It's safe here." He placed a plate in front of her with a sandwich on it and also a cup of water.

Jane returned, giving Sarah a tablet that she downed with some water.

"This is Sarah, honey, she's lost her dad," Steven said softly.

"You poor thing," Jane murmured, "If you want, we can go check the city tomorrow."

"Will he be there?"

They stiffened up, unsure. They had seen many dead bodies the previous night, including their unfortunate son. It took all of Steven's strength to continue on and drag his wife on. Last night changed everything.

"I hope so, sweetie," Steven sighed, "I hope so."

* * *

The next morning, all three of them got into a car. Sarah, now dressed in a pair of boys clothes that seemed a little too big for her, fiddled with her hands in nerves. She just had to keep calm and she would see her dad. That was easy.

Jane fiddled with the radio, only static coming up as Steven began to drive. Occasionally a car would speed past them, going miles an hour.

The two discussed finding some gas and also looking for food. Steven reminded Jane of the pistol in the glove compartment and then spoke to Sarah, telling her to stick to him no matter what.

The city looked like hell but at least nothing was moving or trying to eat anyone. It was quiet.

Sarah looked out the window despite being told not to. So many people lay on the ground, not moving. Sarah wasn't dumb, she knew they were dead. Signs and cars were all over the place.

They stopped the car and when they exited, Sarah stuck close to the two. They walked around, spotting no one. No survivors, just dead body after dead body. The girl looked up at the two who also seemed to be on alert.

She remembered a name- Jason. He must have been the owner of the room she slept in and also the clothes. He was their son and he was killed last night. Suddenly she felt horrible and looked down, her stomach queasy and not from her wound.

"I heard something," Steven said as he looked over at a corner, "I'm gonna go check it out, you two stay here." He headed off, pistol in hand.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked Sarah. She had calmed down from last night, not as hysterical as she was before.

Sarah nodded, "I think so…" She paused, "What if he's dead?"

"Hmm?"

"My dad…what if he's like everyone else in this town?"

Jane was quiet for a few moments and she sighed, "I don't know. Would you want to stay with us?"

"I think so…" She murmured to herself, "I like you. And Steven." When she looked up, she was shocked to see Jane smiling a bit at her.

"I like you too, Sarah."

Suddenly a yell alerted them, belonging to Steven. Jane told Sarah to stay put but ran over anyways.

Something was on top of Steven, his pistol out of his reach. He was shoving it away though it tried to attack him. Jane wasted on time in diving for the gun, shooting the thing right in the head.

It slumped on Steven and Sarah stared with wide eyes as it splattered blood everywhere, flickers getting onto her clothes.

Jane rushed to Steven as he shoved him off him, hugging him, "Are you okay?!" She demanded.

"I'm fine, h-he was trying to bite me," Steven hugged her back, shaking his head, "He looked like one of those things eating people last night."

Sarah remembered the people who tried to bite others and shuddered. Steven looked at her and offered her a smile, "You okay, sweetie?"

"I-I think so."

"C'mon, let's keep looking for you, dad."

After a while they decided to head to her house, Sarah giving directions. As she looked around, she gulped as she noticed the body of Mr. Cooper. It was hard to believe that the man who was always nice to her had tried to attack her and her father the previous night.

She ignored his body as best as she could as she called around the house for her father. Nothing.

"Get some stuff from your room, Sarah," Steven informed her and she headed upstairs.

It was empty, he wasn't there. She grabbed a bag and began stuffing it with clothes. She paused and opened up a drawer, taking out a switchblade that her father had given for her to use only in emergencies.

She entered his room next. No sign of him. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and soon they began spilling down. She bit her lip to not cry out as she looked around the room. There was no sign of him. Something caught her eye in the room.

It was a guitar pick. Her father loved to play music and had a talent for singing and playing the guitar. This was the pick he always used. She had bought it for him last year and he cherished it beyond belief and used it all the time.

She looked at the silver pick and said nothing as she shoved it into her pocket. She took one last glance around the room and sighed before she exited it, shutting the door behind her without a backwards glance.

* * *

Sarah tried to block out the loud voices of Steven and Jane as they argued together. It came out of nowhere, things were quiet then they started yelling about something. She sat in her bed, trying to focus on a book and sighed.

It had been two months since everything went bad. Two months since she was shot. Two months since she last seen her father.

And also two months that he had been dead.

There was no point in hoping he was alive. He was dead, she knew it. He would have come looking for her if he was. Her dad wouldn't give up.

She knew why they fought. The food was running out, sooner or later they would have to leave, to start traveling. It was only best. It was Steven who suggested that but Jane argued that they had to stay. This place was safe, they would be fine here.

They both were right. Leaving would risk the chances of them being hurt but staying would only make them starve to death. Sarah didn't side with either of them, they would make the decision themselves.

She stopped reading when she noticed the shouting had stopped. A few minutes later, her door knocked and she announced whoever could knock could come in.

A sheepish-looking Steven and Jane entered, both of them exchanging glances as they closed the doors behind them, "Hey, kiddo." Steven greeted her, "We're sorry for shouting. But we have something to tell you." He sighed, "We're going to be leaving this place."

Ah, so Steven had won. Sarah sat up, "To go where?"

"We don't know, the car has a good bit of gas left in her. I heard that the nearby town has a shelter. We could go there," He offered.

Jane sat down on the bed, "There will be more people there, chances are it could be safe."

"I guess," Sarah said.

"We can stay here for a bit longer if that's what you want," Steven began to say.

"No, let's go," Sarah hopped off her bed, "When?" She asked.

"Tomorrow. Get some sleep, okay?" She nodded and accepted the peck on the forehead Jane gave her and the hair-ruffling Steven did tenderly.

They left and she fell back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. In a matter of moments, she fell asleep.

* * *

Joel listened quietly and cleared his throat, "Guess you were wrong about the me being dead part."

"Hey, you thought I was dead as well," Sarah said in defense.

"Yeah, I know," He nodded, "You still got that pick?" He then asked out of the blue.

Sarah reached into her pocket, producing the pick, "The color kinda started to fade away." She explained as she handed it to him.

Joel examined it with fond eyes. He didn't give much thought to the pick, only being reminded whenever he ever saw a musical instrument, "Been a while since I played a guitar. I was hoping to teach Ellie if we ever managed to find one but no such luck."

Sarah only nodded and accepted the pick when he handed it back, "I see you still kept the watch." She looked at his wrist where the broken watch lay resting.

"Yeah, I did," He agreed, "It just helps me cope with what I thought happened to you. Stopped working a few months after the outbreak, it got busted up."

She tilted her head, "So, what exactly happened with you and uncle Tommy after the outbreak?"

"We managed to make it out of the city alive. We headed to the nearby city but that place was gone to shit as well. There were rumors that a village close was not affected yet. We headed there and turns out it was true. We were there for a few weeks before it went to shit."

Sarah paused, beginning to mess with her hands, "Why did you leave me?"

"You looked dead," He said quietly, "Tommy dragged me away before I could give you a proper look over. I'm sorry, I never meant for something like this to happen." He placed his head in his hands, "It must have been horrible for you."

"Yeah, it was."

"So, what happened after-"

The sounds of numerous gun shots going off made the two of them jump up, Joel slightly stumbling in surprise from hopping up from his injury.

The noises came from the direction Mia and Ellie headed off in, "Can you walk?" Sarah began to pick up her bag, taking out a pistol as she looked over at Joel.

"I'll be fine, let's go!"

And just like that, the father and daughter set off.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, I take it you found out about the big family melodrama?"

"Yup, you?"

"Joel told me. Talk about the odds."

"Most of the countries got to shit, I guess you're going to meet someone from your past occasionally."

"Yeah, but a daughter you thought was dead?"

Mia paused after Ellie's question. After a few moments she nodded, "Okay, odd." She agreed.

The two were in the lower levels of a house, looking around for anything that useful. The searches had been doing reasonable well, finding the usual sorts of things in house; food, ammo, scrap metal.

"Where do you think this leaves us?" Ellie inquired as she tucked a can of beans into her bag. Every second discovery went to the other, evening things out to the point no fights could surface. Ellie didn't think a fight would even become of them over the supplies, Mia was being nonchalant about it.

"Leave us?"

"Well, are we going to travel together or are we going our separate ways?"

Mia shrugged, "Beats me." She rummaged around in a cupboard, "I'm fine either way, it'd be nice to have someone else to talk to than the Doc. No offense to her, I mean she has some cool stories but-"

"She can get a little-to old-fashioned?"

Mia smirked, "Correct."

"Joel's practically the same, everything could be quiet than he drops a history line about a war from a hundred years ago. Sometimes it's really cool and sometimes it's...you know," Ellie adjusted the bag over her shoulder, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's head out," The two exited the house only for Mia to shove Ellie against a wall.

"Ouch! The fuck was that for?!" Mia hushed her and pointed out. When Ellie looked around the corner, she saw four men armed with guns talking to each other.

"Mickey was checking one of those houses and he found four of our guys dead there. That geeky new kid and also three other guys, shot to death."

"Great, just what we need. More punks running around the place."

Ellie got an idea. She quickly found a dusty bottle and positioned herself before flinging it at a wall.

They spun in alert, "What was that?"

"I don't know, man but we should check," They agreed to that and soon the four began splitting up.

"We'll split up and take two out each," Mia nodded at what Ellie said and soon they took off in separate directions.

As she began crouching down and approaching the back of a raider wandering aimlessly, Ellie pulled out her switchblade. In a few seconds, she hopped onto his back, stabbing him right in the neck. As he fell to the ground, she took hold of his gun and turned around.

Only to see one of the armed men to be aiming the gun at her.

He grinned coldly, "So, you're one of those bastards killing our men? A little kid. Well, I'll take you back to camp and maybe we can have our own fun with yo-" He suddenly stopped as he fell forward. Producing from his back was a piece of sharp metal.

"I hate cocky idiots," Mia sighed as she yanked the metal out, placing it back into her bag and picking up his gun, "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Ellie shook her head, turning around, "Two more to go."

"Actually one, I got another guy," Mia confirmed as she looked around the corner. She didn't see anyone.

Ellie took out a pistol, aiming around, "Nothing. There were four guys, right?"

"Yeah."

All of a sudden, the sound of people yelling could be heard. To their horror, a group of men donned in the same attire as the previous ones appeared. Mia pulled Ellie back.

"Oh shit," Ellie groaned.

"Guess we gotta fight our way out of here," Mia pulled out a pistol, "I've an idea. It's dumb but it might work. But I need you to shoot as many people as you can the moment I run out."

"Wait, what?"

To her surprise, Mia rushed out into the open and in a matter of moments, the sounds of many bullets going off filled her eardrums. With wide eyes she looked out, sighing in relief at seeing the fact Mia wasn't there. She quickly did what was told as she leaned out, the thugs had been distracted by Mia, looking in the opposite direction. She released a few rounds and ran off the opposite way.

Judging by the many different yells of pain, she had succeeded.

* * *

Joel dropped the lifeless body to the ground, having just suffocated one of the members of that damn camp. Honestly, the least they see of that thing, the better. To his side, Sarah appeared, having taken out their target. Silently they pressed against a car, crouching down and hidden from view as they looked around.

"Okay, here's the plan. There's three guys left, I'll take out one, you take out the other. Then after the third guy is taken care of, we look around the place once more. If it's empty, we can search for the others more openly," Joel ordered.

Sarah nodded in reply and the two went their separate ways. As Joel crept up behind someone, he wrapped his arms around their neck, putting pressure on as no air transferred through their lungs. Seconds later, he went limp and he dropped his body. On the other side, he saw Sarah taking out another one.

He looked away and made his way to the final one. He didn't want Sarah to take care of him. Seeing her kill someone left a bad taste in his mouth. He knew that it was for survival and she was a grown woman but he just saw his twelve-year-old daughter when he thought about it.

Before he could get any closer to the remaining man, something shot out and pierced him in the head. He saw it as a piece of metal before the man fell forward. All of a sudden, Mia hopped out, casually approaching the man and pulling out a hunk of metal. Wrapped around the bottom was some cloth, obviously to make sure the holder didn't slice their hands open.

"Hey, Ellie, you can come out."

Joel sighed in relief as Ellie appeared, walking beside Mia as she shook her head, "Geez, could you have hit him in the back or something? That's just disgusting."

"I aimed for his back, not my fault he moved," Mia shrugged.

Joel decided to make his appearance, heading towards him as he grabbed Ellie's arms, "Are you hurt?" He ignored her surprised look at seeing him and began examining her.

"I'm fine, Joel," Ellie shook out of his hold, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes, "And what are you doing here?"

"We heard shots," He said when Sarah appeared, "We wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

"We can handle ourselves."

Joel sighed, "Not in this place." He frowned, "The sooner we leave, the better."

Ellie's eyes brightened as she realized now was the best idea to ask the question on her and Joel's mind, "Hey, you know you guys should tag along with us. We're heading to Las Vegas. It's safe there! You should come with us!"

Joel shot her a look. He wanted to approach asking the question slowly and calmly not blurting it out. He shook his head as he looked at Sarah and Mia, "There's a safe zone that hasn't gone to shit. Not like all the other quarantine zones. It's not as tight-packed. If you want, we could all go there together."

That seemed like a reasonable way to say it all.

Sarah looked to be thinking and a few moments later she looked at Mia, "Whad'ya say, kiddo?"

"As long as we're out of this place soon, I'll go with anyone," She replied shortly.

After a pause, Sarah looked at Joel, "Guess we're tagging along then."

Joel felt an odd pang of relief run through him. He almost felt happy at the prospect of them traveling together, "Well then, let's head back to the tunnel, get some rest and head out early morning so we don't have a chance of meeting anyone."

They all seemed to agree with it and soon headed back.

Joel kept silent as he did so. When he and Ellie decided to travel with anyone, it always ended up bad. He just had to keep calm and hope for the best.

If anything happened to Sarah, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. After all, he failed her once. To do it again would be horrifying.

* * *

Emotions were always a simple thing. It just seemed that way, the expressions always told a million stories. That's what Mia thought. The way a face curved when showed the way they thought but it also held suspicion. Why did they chose to look at they? What was the situation causing the feelings.

As she and the three others headed towards the tunnel, that's exactly what she felt like doing; examining everyone's faces and their emotions.

Ellie had the most basic look on her face, a simple small smile that had appeared ever since it had been confirmed that two new members were to be added to her group. Clearly she was pleased with the idea of having others around.

Joel was a little more perplexed. He had a mix of being relaxed and also like something was troubling him. It felt odd for Mia to be around the man. It had taken a long time of coaxing, but eventually Sarah revealed to Mia that her father disappeared the day of the outbreak and was thought to be dead. Seeing him in the flesh and alive, not dead would take some getting used to.

Then she arrived at the piece de complicated. Sarah had always been impossible to read. Ever since she met her at the tender age of eight, Mia never was able to figure out her. She was a puzzle, much more annoying than that cube one. Even as she looked at her, she still couldn't pin-point whatever it was that was troubling her.

Even by not looking at her she knew the basics; her apparently dead father turned out to not be dead and thought she was dead and now their traveling together. That was simple once you wrap your mind around it.

The young teen released a small sigh. Yes, emotions were a simple thing…most of the time.


End file.
